Hi,

We just opened a small warehouse for our company, which just has two people in it. In forklift training it is stated to leave the forks on the ground level, tilted forward so they are not raised at all.

Is this due 100% to safety purposes, or to also preserve longevity of the lift?

Would keeping the forks elevated (say 10 feet off the ground), at all times while the lift is park, put strain on the lift system long term, possibly causing hydraulic leaks?

In a small warehouse environment I can understand some people wanting to leave forks raised so they can put a pallet underneath them for storage, if the lift is rarely in use. But I am thinking that over time, the weight of those forks and having the shaft permanently raised, will put a stress on the hydraulics and may compromise its seal over time.

Does anyone have any knowledge about this? Basically, if you take safety aside (no employee ever walking under the forks), may doing this damage the lift?

It's a 5,000 pound capacity lift, but the forks and lift system itself is probably quite heavy (triple mast).

Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some insight on this.